


7 Signs of a Cheater

by FallenInDreams



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Bad Sex, Cheating, F/M, Good Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Romance, This has SasuSaku sex not just GaaSaku, sex that falls somewhere in between
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25331200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenInDreams/pseuds/FallenInDreams
Summary: When Sasuke cheats on her, Sakura returns the favour. It's not cheating if he did it first... right? A vignette of how GaaSaku happens when SasuSaku wasn't paying attention. AU Modern GaaSaku/SasuSaku.
Relationships: GaaSaku, Gaara/Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura/Gaara, SasuSaku, Sasuke/someone else we never see
Comments: 16
Kudos: 76





	7 Signs of a Cheater

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya.
> 
> This was meant to be a light-hearted one-shot about Sakura returning the favour on Sasuke's cheating ways (without making light of cheating) but the angst came out. And took over. And I listened to songs that made me think of SasuSaku in order to write the SasuSaku moments… it's all chaos. :)  
> But YES, this is also very much **GaaSaku**.  
>  **Also:** This one-shot is in a vignette format so it's not in chronological order. You'll figure it out. :)
> 
>  **Warning:** Angst. Jealousy. Not a moral kind of story. Lemons. Bad sex. Good sex. Cheating. Also: if you do not like SasuSaku (can't stand it or just don't like reading it) I suggest you **DON'T** read this. It's not just GaaSaku in here. (But yes, this is ultimately GaaSaku. Who do you think I am? ;P)  
>  **Disclaimer:** I have enjoyed FANON SasuSaku in the past, so no character bashing was intended. Not sure that translates very well in THIS story, because of its premise, but whatever.
> 
> Enjoy. ^_^

**.:.**

**1) Mysterious phone calls or texts on his phone.**

The ringing woke Sakura up and her eyes fluttered open. She didn't move, knowing before she looked at the clock that it was not light out yet and whomever was calling could just go to early morning hell. Besides, they had an answering machine and Sasuke was anal about letting it take over when his beauty sleep might be interrupted.

This was why she was surprised when the ringing stopped abruptly, and she heard Sasuke's baritone voice answer it. Sakura froze in place, hyper aware of how her breathing had stopped instinctively and closed her eyes quickly, heart racing. Forcing herself to breathe deeply, she imitated sleep. Why she felt the need to do this she didn't know, until his voice lowered to a whisper.

She strained to hear him.

"I told you not to call me at home … no, she's asleep. Just …what?"

Snippets of his conversation that made no sense whirled in her head.

"I said I'll see you later."

Whispering. She watched the minutes tick by on the clock.

"Don't call me at home."

More whispering. The clock beeped three times as it hit exactly 3am.

"Hn. I'll see you there."

Then silence. Like he was trying to make sure she was still asleep, Sasuke climbed back into bed and touched her shoulder. It took all her self-control not to respond. But he tugged a little harder and she could no longer hide behind the façade of sleep. Pretending she was just waking up, Sakura let out a soft yawn, rolled onto her back and looked over at Sasuke. She rubbed her eyes for good measure and kept them only half open. She noticed he still had the phone in his hand; her eyes dropped to it and his fingers twitched, like he'd been caught out, so she said the only thing she could think of.

"Sasuke, did someone call?

"Wrong number."

She frowned as he laid down and rolled away from her on the bed. If it was a wrong number, then why had the call lasted for almost five minutes?

**.:.**

Sakura was done feeling sorry for herself that her boyfriend was busy. Again. She took Naruto up on his invitation—one also extended to Sasuke, but the Uchiha had cited work to get out of it—and headed out to the club that the blond had organised to take over that night for his twenty-first birthday bash. Her name was on the list, so she waited impatiently for the bouncer to let her in, ignoring the way his eyes lingered on her tits. She wished she'd worn something more appropriate for the cool night. Her strapless dress was perfect for her because she could hardly call her chest _endowed_. It fitted her like a glove, too, and was made of a shimmery, black material.

Naruto was going to get a kick out of it.

Finally let inside, Sakura clutched her purse tightly, moving the strap over her head; it accentuated her non-existent assets, which she was just fine with. Sasuke hadn't been making an effort to make her feel sexy lately, so this would have to do.

_Strangers, beware. You can look but not touch._

She giggled at herself, inwardly, then looked around for a blob of blond hair.

_Found you._

He was talking animatedly with some guy with red hair. They both turned to look at her as she drew closer; the redhead caught her eye and she remembered him right away from a picture on Naruto's desk at his apartment. It was for the redhead's birthday the year before, apparently. Sakura rationalised her quick memory from a single photo because his unusual hair colour stood out. And now that she'd seen him in the flesh, she remarked internally just how _good_ it complimented him. Gaara was an out of towner, only in Konoha because of the blond. He was also apparently some big shot in Suna.

She felt a thrill go through her body at he way he was blatantly ogling her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled and hugged her. "You look amazing! That dress is awesome! Come, meet Gaara. He doesn't bite, I promise."

This Gaara smirked, taking her hand and kissing it gently; his fingers brushed over her skin, teasingly. She blushed. "Not unless you want me to," he said, and she felt her mouth go dry.

_This is going to be a long night._

**.:.**

**2) Unpredictable behaviour.**

He'd been more quiet than usual the past few weeks. Sasuke was working so late his head had barely hit the pillow before her alarm went off; her shifts at the hospital were also starting earlier. Tsunade-sama was running her ragged, but Sakura enjoyed the challenge. It was a welcomed distraction from the nagging doubts that forced their way into her head when she was at home—alone and wondering where her boyfriend was this time.

But every so often she thought he might tell her; he opened his mouth when she asked him how his day was but then shut it just as quickly, murmuring, "hn" and then going back to whatever he was doing that was so damn important. Sakura would be more offended by his standoffish attitude if she too, hadn't been overworking herself lately.

But she missed her boyfriend. She missed his kisses, his caresses, and when she was able to get more than a monosyllabic response from him. Sakura saw him in the morning when he got up and she was almost out the door, as well as some nights when she'd woken up as he returned home. Then there were a few sporadic days—such as weekends and his normal day off—where she would wake to the smell of him cooking breakfast. Or to the feel of his fingers working their magic between her legs and his mouth leaving wet trails along her neck. But those days were few and far between and becoming a chore to wait for.

They'd talked about this.

And his behaviour became so unpredictable that Sakura—in her desperation for his attention—started a fight with him. She didn't want it to come out of nowhere and be about something stupid, but that's ultimately what their fights ended up being centred on. She wanted to get him to admit what was wrong with him, so she brought up his family. It wasn't a taboo topic, but he didn't like talking about them, either. Other times she'd mention them, he'd just go quiet and wait for her to give up on getting a reaction from him. But this time…

"Sakura, shut _up_!"

She recoiled as he stormed out of their apartment, grabbling his car keys and coat, and slamming the door behind himself. The minutes ticked by as she stood there, with her mouth hung open and the tears prickling at her eyes.

Sasuke didn't tell her to shut up and he certainly _never_ yelled at her. Not even in his angriest moments.

_What the hell is wrong with him?_

And how the hell was she supposed to help him if he wouldn't talk about it?

**.:.**

Alone for her day off, Sakura contacted a few friends, bored out of her mind. But everyone seemed to be busy, so she decided to invade Naruto's space—he did it to her so often. Doing it back to him wouldn't bother him at all, she was sure. And as luck would have it, she ran into Gaara instead. Apparently, he was staying in Konoha for the week, on vacation and baka that he was, Naruto had forgotten to make time in his own schedule to hang with him. So that was how Sakura found herself, early Sunday morning, letting herself into Naruto's apartment, only to find out the blond had been called into work.

And his hot, new temporary roommate, was a master at Call of Duty. She'd never played this game before, and contemplated just turning around and leaving, but those jade eyes caught hers and she found herself completely unable to move. _Away_ , that is. She was perfectly capable of sitting down next to him, putting her feet up, and watching him play.

They said nothing for two hours. Occasionally, Sakura would get up and grab a drink or bowl of chips—which he shared with her, without asking—but eventually found herself next to him again, in silence. But every time she sat down, she sat closer. He didn't seem to mind. The smirk on his face told her that her presence was welcome.

His eyes would dart to her bare legs when she shifted position next to him and occasionally watch her lick the salt of the chips from her lips. But she didn't find it perverted. It was flattering.

And surprisingly, the lack of chatter between them was never tense or annoying. He played the game with little interaction, not making use of the in-game chat other than to occasionally tell someone they're an idiot or grunt at them. She even heard someone—so loud—on the other end ask him if he was alone because they "could hear crunching so stop fucking eating chips" when Gaara wasn't the one eating. But she liked it. It meant she would be less distracted by his deep voice and could concentrate on the game. She often watched Naruto play and loved it. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't stop taking sneak peeks at the man next to her.

It was this way the first time she'd met Sasuke, but where the raven-haired man had called her annoying and told Naruto to stop inviting her over during their gaming hours, Gaara seemed content with her presence.

She had no idea how much Naruto had told him about her, but he didn't seem interested in asking her anything about herself.

Once he was done with the game however, Gaara carefully placed his controller and headset down on the coffee table and then turned to her, like she hadn't been sitting there for hours, and smirked at her.

"Do you play?"

"C.O.D?" She squeaked out her question and he started running a hand along her arm.

"Yes."

"No."

"You like watching, though."

_That sounds like a dirty innuendo._

"N-Naruto's really into it and I-uh like watching."

_Yee, gods._

Gaara shifted closer to her on the couch and started asking her questions about herself while making it clear he was interested in her, but not actually crossing any kind of line. Not _really_. He _had_ to know who she was, who she was dating, and that both Sakura and Sasuke were friends of Naruto.

But as his fingers started massaging her skin, he clearly didn't _care_. (IF he knew; she still wasn't sure.) He didn't try anything else with her and she felt disappointed. Nights alone and unwanted like she was some kind of asexual decoration instead of Sasuke's very fuckable girlfriend would not excuse her if she decided to start something with Gaara first.

She wouldn't let anything happen between them, no matter how good his fingers felt along her bare arms. And… legs. She _couldn't_.

**.:.**

**3) He hides his financial history from you.**

The Uchiha family business was worth millions. Hundreds of millions. Maybe even billions. She wasn't sure. Sakura hadn't bothered googling them since she hadn't started dating Sasuke because he drove a car that probably cost hundreds of thousands of yen. Or a million. What did she know about sports cars?

But he didn't hide his expenses from her. Until now.

They used to go over their joint finances together. Now he suddenly didn't have enough time and she was left doing her own, by herself. He wouldn't even give her an estimate on his own expenditure. They had a joint account that he suddenly wasn't depositing anything into and her password for his account wasn't working anymore.

Sakura didn't like it. She needed to find something, _anything_ , that hinted to what he was hiding.

So, she broke into the lock boxes he'd hidden in his study; that he didn't know she knew about. Well actually, she undid the screws holding the hinges in place—it was easier than trying to teach herself to pick the lock. She'd never been the patient type when angry or annoyed. The heavy lid came off easily and she placed it carefully on the floor before rummaging through the box. There were letters to and from his father and his older brother Itachi, but she reserved that for emergency suspicion and just focused on looking for anything financial.

There were a handful of blank cheques. The cheapest was in the hundreds of yen. She frowned. Sasuke _hated_ blank cheques. If someone got their hands on them, he could be out thousands—or more—yen.

_What is he doing?_

She double-checked the time (he wasn't due to return home for another two hours) and got to work on sorting out all the paperwork he didn't want her to see. If this was just a financial mix up, there'd be nothing in any of the rest of this stuff that should set off her suspicion, right?

Sakura resisted the urge to read the sealed envelopes, but noted they had no recipient name on the front. And strangely, when she rattled a few, they seemed to contain small bits of metal.

And there was a charge to a five-star hotel suite she didn't remember going to. The receipt clearly showed a single room for two occupants and many charges for room service. Things like oysters, chocolate, ice-cream, and champagne on the room service charge caught her eye. Gulping and wracked with sudden nerves, her eyes roved over the date. It was from a weekend she'd spent at a medical conference on the other side of the country.

And he'd (allegedly) been stuck at home with work.

**.:.**

Sakura declined all fourteen of Naruto's invites to go to some generic theme park place—she had no idea what it was because he was so excited over the phone, it came out as a ramble. He had finally gotten a day off to hang with Gaara and wanted Sakura to come with. She _didn't_.

Gaara was a red-hot temptation that she was determined to avoid until he went back home. Far, far, far away in the magical land of Suna. That weird city she'd never visited and was now off her bucket list. She just had to put more effort into her crumbling relationship, even if the idea of trying to pressure or trick a stubborn Uchiha into sex did make her cringe.

But when Sasuke stood her up, again, Sakura decided she wasn't going to wallow. She messaged Ino and met her at Hinata's place; they decided to go dancing. It was a place that Naruto frequented, but Sakura didn't bother worrying about it—he'd texted her shortly after their phone call to tell her he was going to take the redhead to some weird mini-golfing place. She'd sent him a few emojis and left it at that.

Imagine her surprise when, half an hour after dancing with her girls and turning down every guy that tried to come onto her, Sakura spotted a familiar redhead and blond in the crowd.

Not knowing about her predicament, Hinata welcomed Naruto happily, shyly accepting his arm as he insisted on dancing with her, and Ino raked Gaara with her eyes. Sakura was about to make an excuse to leave when he moved up beside her, ignoring Ino's pout and whispered in the pinkette's ear, "please don't make me have to dance with the other blonde tonight."

Sakura bit her lip and glanced at Naruto, who was spinning Hinata around happily, and decided not to question that comment. She sighed and let him wrap an arm around her waist ( _no inappropriate touching_ , she told him, and he smirked but nodded his head). Ino quickly decided not to be left out and immediately grinded against some dark-haired stranger, making Sakura roll her eyes. The girl loved competing for male attention with Sakura, back when the pinkette used to be single.

Gaara moved them in time with the music and kept his hands in appropriate places but she didn't trust him. Not for a moment. He took the opportunity to pull her closer when the song was slower and grind against her when the beat sped up—still nothing too bad but she was worried how it looked.

Sakura pulled away from him after the fifth song. It was late. She needed to get home.

He politely escorted her to the door of the club, and she fled.

**.:.**

**4) Changes in tastes overnight, like music, etc.**

Friday nights were their date night. Even when he was being distant and Sakura found her days spent alone in their apartment or working or calling up Ino to see if the blonde had the day off, they still went out at the end of the week. They took turns choosing what they'd be doing, and this time was Sasuke's.

He wanted to head to the cinema. But he didn't seem to care what movies were showing. So, Sakura chose a romantic time travel movie. The female protagonist was travelling backwards in time. Sakura loved it. Sasuke spent the whole time, his eyes glazed over or looking around the auditorium.

Sakura had fallen in love with Sasuke the day she realised he loved romantic movies. Even if he wasn't very good at being romantic, himself.

The soundtrack had her in tears, but he just sat there, stiff as a board and she wondered if maybe he was coming down with something. Sakura paid for their dinner later that night as they made their way to the beach. He was such an odd man, liking the sand between his toes more than she did. He was so weird, always on the look out for the latest rock metal music. She didn't share his tastes, for the most part. But it was never boring.

_He must be coming down with something._

They ended the night in their apartment after the karaoke bar. Sakura was surprised by the intensity in which Sasuke took her clothes off, since he hadn't touched her in a while, but she wasn't going to complain. His hands were all over her suddenly, like he was trying too hard, but she let him have at it, afraid that any interruption from her might stop him altogether. She moaned in all the right places, touched him in all the ways he liked, and parted her legs when he nudged at her to do so.

And when he finally pushed inside her, Sakura tried to let herself go. For her mind to just disappear in the rocking and groaning and slapping of their bodies. But she couldn't. Something was different. Something was very _wrong_.

Unbidden and out of nowhere, images of their night out came to her and she wondered if this had something to do with his weird behaviour lately. He wasn't the most romantic person, but he did like romantic movies that actually contained plots. Like the one tonight. Everything about him felt off.

She wasn't enjoying herself. Sasuke didn't seem to be enjoying himself. Their sex wasn't normally the most adventurous, but Sakura didn't think she was doing anything _wrong_. She tried to mix it up, but he kept pushing her back down on the mattress, not even bothering with his signature "what are you doing" look as he continued thrusting. When he finally came, Sakura decided to worry about it later. Along with all the other sudden changes in his tastes. She ran a hand through his hair lovingly as he panted into her ear before rolling off and away to try to sleep. And she sighed heavily.

As far as she knew, he had no plans for Saturday, so she resolved to ask him about it in the morning.

But when her eyes fluttered open after a night of fitful sleep and she reached for Sasuke, happy and nervous at the same time, her hands hit empty, crumpled bed sheets instead. He'd left a note on his pillow, stating that he'd been called into work.

_So much for my answers._

**.:.**

_I'm a cheating bitch!_

Sakura found herself thinking of Gaara when she was in the middle of writing out boring reports at work. Whenever something slowed down enough, she couldn't help it. Tsunade ran her ragged, as usual, and her home life was quiet and upsetting. So, in those moments when her focus slipped, her thoughts drifted to the newest man in her life.

_Ugh._

Ino had talked her ear off on the phone after that night about "what were you doing?" and so forth, while simultaneously wondering out loud if this "redhead with the hots for you" would do _her_ instead. Sakura gagged at that and told her off for it before making her promise to not tell Sasuke about Gaara.

"There's nothing going on," she rationalised it. "Sasuke's under a lot of stress at work so bugging him with this would just be unnecessary."

"Whatever forehead. But with the way you and _Gaara_ were bumping against each other at the club, maybe you need to decide if you even want Sasuke to not know. Imagine being sandwiched between those two and—"

Sakura abruptly ended the call.

She was _so_ not interested in having sex with Gaara. And Sasuke wouldn't go for it anyway…

Sakura felt her face flush as she stared at her phone. She didn't want to proposition Gaara or accept his advances, not really. Imagining him hot and bothered didn't mean she wanted to actually _see_ him hot and bothered. She had a boyfriend. She had someone. Even if it didn't actually _feel_ like she'd had Sasuke for a long time.

This was just lust. She'd get over it.

Sakura jumped as her phone rang in her hand, holding a hand to her heart to steady her breathing. She didn't recognise the number but decided a quick prank call might just be what she needed to keep her mind away from pretending she didn't want to jump Gaara's bones.

_Crazy._

"Sakura."

_Damn it._

"Gaara? How'd you get my number?"

"Naruto."

"Right. So, what's up?"

That was lame.

"I need a lift to the airport."

Right, he was going home. Her free hand shook slightly, and she clasped it to her chest as she tried to focus on the call. Sakura cleared her throat.

"Why can't Naruto pick you up?"

"He's inconveniently busy."

"Working, or Hinata?"

Gaara chuckled on the other end. "You don't want to know."

Enigmatic. Funny. So, fucking hot.

_He's going to be the death of me._

Sakura thought about it, but then berated herself for being so rude. If she didn't get to sleep with him, then being his friend was the next best thing.

 _I SO don't want to sleep with him,_ she told herself staunchly.

Sakura forced a smile to her face. "Okay, when do you need to be there?"

"In ten minutes."

"Shit." She hadn't realised she's said that out loud until Gaara chuckled on the other end. She sighed. "I'll be right over."

**.:.**

**5) Has new friends at work or responsibilities.**

He'd been working a lot. That wasn't news. So, it was no surprise to Sakura when Sasuke was promoted. The success ladder of Investment Banking was now opened wide to him. He seemed proud of himself, so she was proud of him. Even if this wasn't a career that he'd ever seemed proud of before. Sasuke had told her once he just needed to get away from his father. It was a job he was good at. It bored her to tears, but whatever.

Sakura went to the company party to celebrate. Sasuke hadn't invited her but she pushed her way into it anyway. She made sure to know when and where it was going to be and talked so animatedly about it to him that he couldn't just say, "no, you can't come". He'd never stopped her from attending work functions with him before, but she was paranoid that this was going to be a first.

She'd rearranged her schedule at the hospital damn it. She was going to do this.

Sakura had gotten to know the names and faces of the people Sasuke worked with, but she didn't recognise any of the people at the party. They were all new co-workers, it seemed. He must've been transferred between departments for this promotion. She was very proud of him with that realisation. He was doing better. He was proving to his father that he didn't need to keep running to Fugaku every time he hit a bump in the road. She smiled up at him and he gave her a tentative one back.

But then, Sakura learned very quickly that the women her boyfriend was now working with had their eyes on him. She clung to him all night, glad she'd worn something sexy as well as expensive, and made sure to glare at any woman who got too close to him.

_Why didn't he say anything about this?_

Sasuke happily (for him) talked with every associate that came up to him, and even disappeared for about twenty minutes one time, citing a work emergency. Sakura spent that time receiving smug looks from his co-workers and trying and failing to feel welcomed.

When Sasuke returned, she reclaimed his arm and was happily surprised when his other hand came to rest on hers when a particularly beautiful woman came up to talk to him—while ignoring the pinkette.

_How many beautiful people does he even work with?_

Sasuke's main boss—a man with strange facial piercings and bright hair—was nice enough to address Sakura a few times and made a point of talking about Sasuke's new responsibilities. Sakura sighed internally, realising this was going to mean more work for him, and later nights. As if it wasn't bad enough.

_There's goes my sex life._

**.:.**

The ride to the airport and Gaara's subsequent disappearance from her day to day was weighing down on her. A soft kiss to her cheek in thanks and she was blushing for hours afterward. He still hadn't touched her inappropriately.

_Thank, kami._

But there was still an inappropriate nature to his treatment of her. She wasn't sure if he knew she was dating Sasuke as the raven-haired man was never mentioned, even during a Zoom session between Sakura, Gaara, and Naruto. Sasuke hadn't even "hn'd" at her in days and Gaara found time in his busy schedule to talk to her about nonsense and ask about her work and friends, while Naruto made faces at them both. He acted like a friend of a friend in front of Naruto but once the blond got off the line, Gaara asked her what time she had free for a one-on-one chat. She knew immediately it was a bad idea. But she sent him her schedule for the next week and he reciprocated.

They decided on Sunday night. She would be home alone and apparently, his siblings had families to tend to then. He was the only single person in his family. It was giving her _bad thoughts_. She distracted herself from that by telling him about a patient that threw up on her. Unsexy story, coming right up.

"Uh, Sakura?"

"Yes?" She sat up and self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Have you ever been to Suna?"

_Oh goodness, don't ask me to come to Suna._

"N-no."

He smirked at her. "Better not. It might ruin your perfect complexion."

She poked her tongue at him.

"Mature."

Sakura started at the sound of the front door of her apartment opening. Sasuke was home.

"I have to go," she said.

"I'll see you Sunday."

"Bye," she said hastily, and closed her laptop quickly, scared of what her boyfriend might think of this agreement.

Wait.

_What am I feeling so guilty about?_

Women and men could totally be non-fuck buddy friends. She didn't jump into Naruto's bed, so she wasn't going to jump into Gaara's. No matter how much she _desperately_ wanted to.

_Ugh._

**.:.**

**6) He's changed his lifestyle suddenly (lost weight, more muscle, etc).**

Sasuke had always been fit. He was lean but powerful, and always had a weekly schedule of fitness. He knew how to take care of himself.

But this was insane.

Sakura had been cataloguing the changes in her boyfriend and come to the logical conclusion that he'd morphed into a fully-fledged health and fitness fanatic while she wasn't looking. This was beyond OCD.

His food in their fridge changed from his usual leftover okaka to that green crap that health nuts whizzed out because they ate too much of it. Whenever she wanted to have sex, he made his excuses and either had a migraine or went for a jog, instead. When he wasn't working, of course.

She decided to get proactive after a particularly bad day at the hospital and set up a romantic dinner, knowing he was finishing work at six because of a closure of one of the bank's big clients. It wasn't that he was being laid off—just that he wouldn't be needed that night. The bosses were working with more senior representatives to resolve the issue.

So, she sat in her chair at the dining table, feeling sexy wearing Sasuke's favourite of her dark red lace lingerie under her sleek black dress, and waited for him to open their front door and be surprised. She wondered if maybe she should have just waited, naked, in their bedroom, but her boyfriend was always the horniest after a good, home cooked meal, so she waited.

And waited.

She waited for an hour before calling his mobile phone and got his message bank. A few minutes later she got a text; he'd decided to go a co-worker's house for a few hours and wouldn't be home until the usual time. Sakura sighed and blew out the candles she'd set up. This was getting her nowhere.

A week later, he finally came home on time and she was excited. Sakura hadn't decked out the dining room table again, but she'd made dinner and as he dug into his rice balls and tuna, she couldn't keep the grin off her face. He was here, he was listening to what she was saying—her day at work had been great—and she was feeling particularly randy every time he looked up at her because of something she'd said.

So, when the dishes were put away and they'd had their separate showers, Sakura pounced.

When he pinned her to their bed, holding himself up as he hovered over her, she couldn't help but notice his biceps were larger. She couldn't help but notice his lacklustre performance as he thrust in and out of her had not changed—just his physique. Sasuke had never been the sex god his fan girls had assumed from the moment he was old enough to have sex, but it wasn't for lack of trying. She didn't begrudge him that.

But now, he seemed to have completely given up.

They hadn't had sex in months, and he didn't seem as hungry for it as she'd been for him. Surely the extra stamina he'd gained from working out so much would transfer into every physical aspect of his life.

"Sasuke?"

He ignored her and rolled over, tucking his face into his bent arm. She knew that pose. He did this every time he was annoyed at himself. For someone who'd known him for years, it was obvious to Sakura that he was regretting giving into her.

Her heart couldn't take much more of this.

**.:.**

A few more months had passed since she saw Gaara off at the airport and Sakura was enjoying the Zoom calls with him more than any communication with Naruto. The redhead was quickly becoming one of her closest friends.

_It helps that he's hundreds of miles away._

She couldn't bang someone she couldn't touch, no matter how many times Ino tried to convince her that virtual sex was a thing. It was fine for people in long distant relationships, but she was living with and dating Sasuke.

_While wishing I was living with and dating Gaara._

Did it make it virtual sex if they talked about their favourite positions and what got them off? She talked to Ino about this stuff too, but Ino never looked at her like she wanted to devour Sakura when the pinkette admitted to preferring to be the dominant one, rather than submissive. And it wasn't Ino's eyes that dropped to her mouth when Sakura licked her lips in the middle of her confession that she liked the preamble of her lover slowly inserting their fingers into her. Teasing her before going all in.

It was _Gaara_ who agreed that sex with strangers wasn't as hot as fucking someone you considered a friend.

 _Friend_.

The night before Gaara had told her this, Sasuke had taken her quick and fast—and after his confession, it made her wonder if he was friends with Gaara. She imagined sex with the redhead would be less vanilla and more intense than the Uchiha. She often imagined what they'd look like taking their turns with her. After a few months of this virtual, sex confessions, and sick of hating herself for it, she no longer berated herself for these healthy fantasies and was happy enough to just keep this secret to herself. She wasn't going to lose her mind over this.

Their friendship was fine the way it was.

Right up until the moment that Naruto informed her Gaara was returning to Konoha again.

"He's looking for real estate for a client," the blond said, making himself at home in Sakura's kitchen. He was a great cook when he didn't make ramen. Sasuke had left for work but Naruto didn't seem bothered. When was the last time those two had even hung out together?

Gaara owned a business left to him by his father. He gave start-up capital to people and worked with them to turn their ideas into a thriving business—for a cut. This was the perk of being a rich kid with all the money in the family—he hadn't needed to work his way up that corporate ladder. Sakura didn't envy him anymore than she envied Sasuke, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like to make your own hours. She'd love that.

_Maybe I should run my own surgery one day._

It sounded better the more she thought of it. She smiled at that as Naruto rambled on about how it would be so great to have Gaara back in his apartment. He'd insisted on taking him in again and inviting Sakura over.

Sakura agreed without thinking, lost in the reverie of her new inner revelation.

A few days later, she was making excuses to Sasuke, who didn't care anyway, and headed over to Naruto's. She didn't want to see Gaara. But she did. He was a good friend so why wouldn't she?

Her inner monologue continued on like this as she drove herself, oblivious to the edge she was teetering over.

Naruto answered the door when she knocked and quickly ushered her in. It turned out that he'd invited quite a number of people over to celebrate the redhead's return (any excuse for Naruto), and she suddenly felt underdressed. But when a certain set of jade eyes caught hers, she no longer _cared_. He was dressed casually as well and motioned for her to follow him as he left the crowd of boozing acquaintances of Naruto's and led her out onto the relatively quiet balcony.

"Hi," she breathed, when the door was closed behind her.

He smiled down at her, brushing hair out of her face and revelling in the fact that she was enjoying it. "Hi."

Inconsequential words were shared. A few lingering touches. Sakura kept her promise to herself to restrain from jumping him and he kept his promise to her to restrain from inappropriate touches.

But they so _wanted_ to.

**.:.**

**7) He suddenly needs a lot of privacy.**

Sasuke spent more time alone than with Sakura. He had started answering his phone in the other room. He also closed his laptop when she came into his study to check on him. Even though he brought his work home, he still acted distant and secretive about what he was doing. She found herself confused by the hour long Zoom calls and his refusal to talk on the phone when she was in the room. It felt like she was living with a spy.

And after his promotion and strange changes in his behaviour, not to mention how his tastes had changed and their sex life had come to a standstill, Sakura was no longer going to ignore all the red flags.

This wasn't a relationship at all, and she was _angry_. Did he think she was stupid? Did he think she was so blind or in love with him that he could do anything to her, and she'd just happily go along with it?

_Would I?_

But the fear of losing him reined in her temper. She resorted to pretending to be asleep when the phone rang, and he waited for it to stop and then start again before climbing out of bed. He had been getting these calls on his mobile as well, but he didn't seem as annoyed by those ones.

Sakura waited for him to close the door and walk away from it before quietly getting out of bed.

She pressed her ear to the door and heard more snippets of a quick conversation before rushing back into bed to avoid getting caught. She was angrier than before and finally fed up with these games. Sakura intended to get to the bottom of this. But approaching Sasuke directly would accomplish nothing. He had a way of avoiding direct questions. She'd _tried_. And without hard evidence, he would just brush her aside.

She was tired of being brushed aside.

So, Sakura made a point of looking bored when he answered his phone. She made a point of lingering when he entered his pin to unlock said phone. She didn't look at him or it directly, just pretended to be dusting or talking with either Ino or Naruto on her phone to make Sasuke think she wasn't paying attention to him.

And the morning after she figured out his four-digit pin number, Sakura stole his mobile phone. She turned it off to keep him from using the landline to call it. He was in such a rush that he decided to just go the day without it—it wasn't his business phone, anyway. So, she accepted his cold lips against her cheek then called in sick to work to give herself some time to think and work this out.

Tentatively, she turned Sasuke's phone back on, knowing he would be too busy at work to bother calling it—and why would he? Her hand shook as she swiped at the screen and entered the pin number; her own smiling face stared up at her, alongside Sasuke's bored looking facade. They were his lock screen and wallpaper. It tugged at her heart and made her hesitate, but Sakura quickly pushed that aside and rifled through every text and call he'd had in the past months.

He got a lot of personal texts from women that Sakura recognised from that promotion party, but they seemed mostly one-sided. The contact that glared up at her was decidedly more intimate. She'd never seen the woman before, and the name was unfamiliar. But there she was, naked and winking at the camera; she'd sent a number of these texts to Sasuke and he'd replied… with similar images of himself. And both parties made promises to meet up. Texts marked after these dates talked about how much they enjoyed each other.

They were definitely having sex.

Sakura fought the tears but couldn't stop them. Her vision was slightly blurry as she read the sex texts and punished herself with every heart emoji and naked picture the two sent back and forth. Eventually, she threw the phone across the room where it broke against the wall and she struggled to get herself under control.

She'd been so subservient, a doormat; Sasuke could never have guessed she'd steal his phone and find the incriminating evidence of his cheating.

It didn't matter. The damage was done.

Sakura let out a sob and curled up on the bed. And for the first time in months, since she first suspected, Sakura finally broke down.

**.:.**

She had it out with him when he returned. What else was she going to do? But in the aftermath, there was suddenly only one thing that was clear: they were over. Sakura had done what she needed to do. She was devastated. But also relieved.

A deep, quiet rage had been building inside of her. But the dam wasn't broken, just cracked along the weak points, with water (tears) threatening to spill out from these spots. But she didn't want to break down. Not yet. Not until she was so far removed from her failed relationship that all she could see was black.

Sakura knew what she had to do. She was on a mission. After a few minutes of putting herself back together, she showered, dressed, and stormed out of the apartment. She remembered her anger and the conversation she'd had with Sasuke.

" _What the hell is the matter with you, Sasuke?"_

Sakura didn't trust herself to drive in this state, so she called a taxi and headed straight over to Naruto's. She stormed into the apartment; her eyes focused on her target. She didn't even notice the blond wasn't there. The hot, redhead sitting on the couch, headphones on and the C.O.D. controller in his hand stood and turned to face her entry. His jade eyes took in her form, the fierce look on her face, and blinked heavily. The door slammed behind her and Sakura stalked up to him.

"Sakura?"

He looked so concerned, so fearful, that she almost stopped. But it wasn't Gaara's _feelings_ she'd come for.

Ignoring the light wetness on her cheeks, Sakura held a finger to his lips to stop him. His eyes widened and his Adam's apple bobbed. Her forwardness was turning him on.

"Shut up," she said. "Just shut up and _fuck me_."

His eyes searched hers and a quiet understanding passed between them. If he didn't fuck her now, he'd never get to. Something had happened to change things and she was determined to do this. Doing as she asked, Gaara kept his concerns to himself, ignored the complaints in chat, and met her halfway as she crashed her mouth against his.

He didn't have a chance to even turn the game off.

" _I found your mobile," she'd said to Sasuke, throwing the broken phone at him._

Gaara moaned and wrapped his arms around her torso.

" _What did you do to it?"_

Sakura fumbled with his shirt before pushing her hands up under the hem and stroking his abdominal muscles.

" _I broke it."_

He trembled under her touch but eagerly responded by running his right hand along her hip before cupping her butt. His hardness pressed against her groin and they stood there, in the middle of the living room, just pressed against each other. Kissing. Groping. Moaning.

" _You stole it."_

A year of sexual tension came tumbling out of the secure hidey hole they'd both buried it in, for safe keeping.

" _And you've been cheating on me." Sasuke fell silent at her accusation, the annoyed look on his face dropping when she let the cat out of the bag. He was busted._

Sakura tugged on Gaara's shirt and he followed her lead, moving to lie on the couch as she climbed on top of him; still kissing, still hungrily _attached_ to each other. Now their hands moved to divest each other of their clothes. It wasn't slow or teasing. They didn't have the patience for that right now. Buttons broke, shirts ripped at the seams, and her knickers were torn beyond repair.

She gasped and pulled away long enough to give him an eyeful of her bare breasts; his eyes feasting on them as he cupped them, then trailed a hand down her flat stomach, and probing the soft curls between her legs. Still straddling him, Sakura dug her knees deeper into the couch and repositioned herself to get friction and heat between them.

There had always been heat between them.

_There was a lot of screaming and she started throwing things at him. His things. Sasuke dodged them but said nothing, letting her anger roll over him and do what she'd intended. He looked devastated and lost._

Sakura swivelled her hips, sighing deeply as Gaara hardened under her ministrations. Not satisfied with the pace, she started stroking him, biting her lip when he threw his head back and let out a string of expletives before moaning out her name. She kept at it, not letting him get up when he clearly wanted to switch their positions and gripped him harder than necessary when his fingers found her sensitive spots in retaliation. He played with her body as she played with his, before, without an assent from him, Sakura held him in position before greedily lowering herself onto him.

She didn't hesitate to take what she wanted. And he didn't stop swearing as she engulfed him fully, moving above him immediately. She rose and fell, a little unbalanced until he gripped her hips to steady her. Sakura was trembling with excitement. This was really happening.

Her thoughts forgot her former lover as her new lover moved his body as best as he could, to keep in time with hers.

_It was over. She wanted to forget him so desperately but couldn't stop the breaking of her heart and soul, even if she tried. Tears threatened to fall but she would not let him see her like that. There was one last thing she needed from him. The only question she wouldn't forgive him for not answering._

The redhead's hands moved from her hips when she had found and perfected her speed and movement, now tweaking one of her nipples and trying in vain to get her to lean forward so he could suckle the other. She kept her hands on his chest, using him for leverage; her eyes closed, her breathing deepening and becoming more ragged. If she opened her eyes for too long, the rise and fall obscured her vision; the tears had stopped a long time ago. She felt woozy. So much so, that when her energy started to wane, burning out her adrenaline, Sakura gave in and leaned forward, letting Gaara suckle away.

It sent a new fire through her body and she found herself riding him with renewed vigour. She couldn't hear her own screams, nor the cries of her breathless lover. The only thing that mattered was the feeling of their bodies pushing against each other. That all the tension from resisting him was melting away.

As Sakura lost track of how many times she's ground herself into him—of how many times he'd filled her so fucking fantastically before she rose and fell back down on him again—she also lost her mind.

She was coming. And she was coming _hard_.

" _Why the fuck didn't you just tell me you wanted to be with someone else, Sasuke?"_

She opened her eyes as her body convulsed; the coil curling and burning inside her. Jade eyes stared back at her, hungry and animalistic as he took her harder than she'd ever been taken before.

" _Fuck!" Sasuke swore. "Because I still love you, god damn it!"_

Sakura stilled as her body spasmed, coming around him. She couldn't maintain her equilibrium, falling forward to face plant onto Gaara's shoulder as he groaned into her ear, still thrusting. She didn't have long to dwell on the power behind her orgasm before the redhead was sweeping her into his own orgasmic euphoria.

_Gaara._

It was always Gaara.

She was heading toward him the moment they'd met. The moment she'd seen his picture. Hell, probably the moment things were going wrong with Sasuke. She wasn't sure about the timeline, but it didn't matter.

Sasuke cheated first.

And according to Ino, virtual sex was still sex. So, nobody was innocent today. Except maybe Naruto—but only because he'd had no idea what was going on with his friends. Sakura sighed, trying to focus on the how Gaara felt inside of her as he started to soften. She didn't want to regret this, but there was still the matter of how they could even work together. She had a life here, in Konoha, and he was a big shot in Suna. But who's life would be upended by this, and was it even worth it to do so?

_I'm getting ahead of myself._

Maybe Gaara had no intention of being anything other than fuck buddies. The thought made her heart clench and she had to remind herself of all the tender, thoughtful moments they'd shared over the past twelve months.

As she contemplated her future with this amazing man, his hand came up to languidly stroke her spine, his body trembling under hers as she shifted to look toward where he'd dropped his game controller and headset.

_The game is still going._

The audio was still on.

**.:.**

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was intense. Again: I didn't set out to bash Sasuke. As for the woman he cheated with … I have no idea who she is, so imagine whomever you want. I hope you guys enjoyed. Please kudo/comment. Lotsa love! :)


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